Bolton U17s see a depleted side lose at Tarleton

With a very depleted squad due to half term holidays and injuries, Bolton U17s arrived at Tarleton with only 12 players. Tarleton had a full squad of 20, but chose not to lend players to Bolton (although this is recommended by the league) instead fielding 13, with 7 substitutes. This gave them a huge advantage, not only in numbers on the field, but in their ability to keep giving players rests, and bringing on players who were completely fresh. This resulted in a final score of 19-0 to Tarleton, but the score line didn’t reflect the game. At one stage Jonny Wallis drove across the line but was judged held up so the try disallowed, and Bolton got frustratingly close to the try line on more than one other occasion. The first half saw some tremendous tackling by Paddy Uzoka and Ciaran Bach keep Tarleton at bay, whilst Matthew Chowdhury did some great runs to keep Bolton on the front foot in difficult conditions. Rohan Patel and Jacob May did some fantastic runs, whilst Sam Smith did a sterling job in defence on return from sustaining a broken wrist a few weeks ago. The conditions were atrocious conditions with a strong wind whipping the ball around, and a wet and muddy field preventing a flowing game. The scrums were hard fought, with Harvey Banks, Callum Naylor and Ross Denvir fighting hard and ensuring that Tom Evans won a fair share of the ball. Jonny Wallis made some great runs hauling 3 or 4 of the Tarleton team behind him and Adam Munshi in only his 3rd game ever withstood some crunching tackles and in the second half Bolton looked as if they would score more than once. Sadly the game also saw both Paddy Uzoka and Jacob May leave the field with injuries, but both had a great impact on the game. The whole team should be congratulated for their resilience and effort – 12 lads against 20 was never going to be easy, but their spirits never dropped, and despite this loss they remain at the top of the League.

Bolton R.U.F.C.

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